


Not All is Fair in Love and War

by one_musnt_tell_lies



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, marauders - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1939224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_musnt_tell_lies/pseuds/one_musnt_tell_lies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyla Farrow hasn't had the easiest life, and it's not getting any easier. Her mother is dying of cancer, her father is long gone, and the First Wizarding War is slowly beginning. Perhaps befriending the Marauders will turn things around, or it could just make things even harder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

   The house wasn't the same to her any more, just four months past, it still would have been home, but the bank had taken that much from her and her family. Nyla walked past it each morning on her way to work and every night on the way back to the hospital. She would never understand how those people could live with themselves. They took that house away from a dying woman with children and a mountain of medical bills. And it’s not as if her mom refused to pay. She tried her best but even with Nyla’s paycheck helping, there was never enough to pay for the mortgage, medicine, and food. Now her, her mother, and her brother all slept in a tiny room at St. Paul’s Hospital.  
  As Nyla walked past her old home on August 26, 1976, she felt the rage boiling in her stomach again, but she couldn’t decide whether it was anger at her situation or anger due to the fact that she had slept all but 4 hours that night. The whirring and beeping of her mother’s machines had kept her up, as well as the crappy pull out bed she had to share with Ethan, her 10 year-old brother. What was worse, though, was the news that her mother was more than likely not going to beat the cancer that was eating her away. The doctors told Nyla that morning, they even showed her the CAT scan and pointed to the new spots the disease had spread to. They would tell her mother after her chemo treatment and her brother would most likely be left out of the loop. She should’ve seen it coming. Her mother got weaker everyday it seemed and Nyla was the new adult. She went to work all day, she made sure her brother ate, her mom too, and she always made sure the bills were paid.  
   The old house seemed to be dying too. Its lawn was covered in crunchy brown grass and the ‘For Sale’ sign was bent and hanging lopsided in the picture window. The ugly green paint was chipped and peeling off. The roof was missing a million shingles. It was sad and she was getting steadily angrier as she stared at the decaying house, so Nyla continued her short walk to Hank’s, her lovely place of employment.  
   She was a waitress there and she made good money for a sixteen year-old. The regulars knew her and tipped well. The job allowed her some time to think, but the faster September came, the harder everything got. Nyla would go to school on the first and leave her mom and little brother with nothing but what she managed to save up that summer, which wasn’t much. Her headmaster would let her come back to visit a few times a month, but they wouldn’t have any money. She was half tempted to call her father and ask him to help them for the year, but even if he agreed, her mother definitely wouldn’t. She could also ask for a raise, but Hank had been so good to her, and she didn’t want to ask too much. The only reason she was even getting to go back to school was because of Hank. Without him, she would never have gotten her school books, of course she worked overtime for the money, but teenagers weren’t really supposed to work 40 hour work weeks.  
   The diner sat on a relentlessly busy corner in the middle of Brentwood. It was small and hardly ever got overwhelmingly busy despite its location. The sign was small and read ‘Hank’s Diner’ in a goofy font that all the employees laughed at. It had checkered flooring and a small bar with tall red stools. There was no uniform, so the staff was mismatched for all except their aprons. And the food was at best mediocre, but the atmosphere kept customers coming in. Nyla loved her job and her coworkers. Most of them were at University, and the cooks were all older, but they all gave an effort to make the job fun.  
   As Nyla stepped into the diner, her friend Mary stood at the bar washing cups. She wore her long braided hair in pigtails, and a smile that crinkled the chestnut skin around her eyes. She always seemed to be smiling, she was a big ray sunshine that had helped Nyla through the past few months more than anything else.  
   “Good Morning, Nyla!” She called, “How’s it going?” Nyla took a pause, thinking she might lie about it, but Mary would know if she did.  
   “Pretty terrible. Just found out my mom’s not gonna have too much longer. The doctors showed me her CAT scan this morning, there were at least three new tumors.” Nylas voice shook as she spoke and tears welled up in her eyes.  
   Mary’s smile fell and her brown eyes stopped sparkling. All she could do, all anyone ever did, was tell her to keep faith and that her mom would be in their prayers and give her a hug. Nyla didn’t see the point in praying, though, it’s not like her and Ethan hadn’t tried, and if God wanted her mom to live, he wouldn’t have given her the damn cancer in the first place.  
   Nyla thanked Mary as sincerely as she could and went to get her apron. Customers would be in soon, and she needed something to keep her busy. Going back to Hogwarts would be a relief, her friends would know how to make her feel better, she would have classes to focus on, and she would have Dumbledore to talk to when she wanted. All those muggles ever said was sorry, they never tried asking her what she felt or if she wanted to talk at all, but they did try.  
Nyla wondered what her friends were up to as she waited at the bar for customers to flow in. They were probably hanging out in Diagon Alley or playing Quidditch, knowing them. She just wished she could be with them, not stressing about money, or watching her mother suffer through cancer. It was just five days until she’d see them again and they couldn’t have gone faster.  
   Before Nyla knew it she was dragging her trunk down the stairs of St.Paul’s hoping the tears in her eyes wouldn’t cause her to tumble down the five flights to the lobby. Saying goodbye to her family was heartwrenching. Her mother was crying, as were Ethan and herself. Leaving them had always been hard, but this time it was different, because she knew her mother wasn’t going to make it to the next summer, but her mom refused to let her stay and 'throw away her future'.  
As she stumbled down the stairs, Nyla recalled the conversation she had with her mother the night before. Ethan was curled up on the pull out bed, curly brown hair a mess, and Nyla was snuggled up in her mother’s bed savoring the last few hours they could possibly ever have together.  
   “Mom, why can’t I just stay? I can go back to school after you’re better.” Nyla proposed.  
   “Because, darling, you know as well as I do… I’m not going to get better. You need to spend your time being a regular teenager. Going to school, hanging out with your friends, not watching your mother wither away or working. This is my burden and I’ll bear it. I can’t stand to watch you grow up too fast, not anymore.” Her mother sounded as if speaking alone drained her of all her energy and the sadness in her voice dominated the atmosphere of the room.  
   “There isn’t enough money in my savings account to get you guys through this year, hell maybe not even through this month. What are you gonna do?”  
   "I’ve thought about calling your father and sending Ethan to live with him, but he would fight me tooth and nail. I could also refuse further treatment and get a job to get us through.” Her mother sounded more daunted than she ever had. She was initially attempting to decide how she would die: in hospital with no one, or in a shitty apartment with her son watching her slowly die. "But I haven't decided." She finished quietly.  
   “Mom what about neither? What if you and Ethan moved to Hogsmeade?” Nyla would feel much better with them close and she could visit a lot more and it would be awesome, but Nyla’s mom was not so excited. Her mother slowly shook her head.  
   "Sweetheart, that would be no different than you staying. You would worry too much and focus on us more than your school work. Honey, you've got to live your life and grow up when you graduate, not now. Don't worry about me and Ethan we will make it through. We always have." She then kissed Nyla on her forehead suggested they both get some sleep.  
   Now she was standing on the street corner waiting for the bus to the train station. Nyla finally let tears fall from the mossy green eyes she had inherited from her mom. She finally let herself breakdown as she stood alone on September first, feeling like she was abandoning the only people she had in the world. She hated herself for doing it and her mom for making her. She hated everything about everything in that moment. She didn't want to leave Brentwood for Ethan's sake but she had to for her mom's.  
The squeal of the bus's breaks pulled her from her thoughts and forced Nyla to compose herself. She took a deep breath, grabbed her trunk and stepped gingerly onto the double decker. Her thoughts were still running wild despite the calm her expression her face held.  
   How could I leave them with nothing but $300? Why can't she just let me stay and help them? What did I ever do to deserve this? Nyla's last thought gave her pause. After all, it wasn't her that would have to watch their mother die, it wasn't her that was slowly being eaten by cancer. Suddenly she hated herself more than ever. And that didn't change the entire way to the train station, or to London. Not even when she ran through the brick wall into Platform 9 3/4.  
   It was crowded, as usual, and it was filled to the brim with families hugging, mothers sobbing and kids screeching as they reunited with their friends. The giant red train that used to make Nyla queasy with excitement, instead repulsed her. She didn't want to go, nor did she deserve to. She deserved to sit in her mother's place, to be the one dying. She had made the entire affair all about her. How she had to deal with her mother's cancer, how she had to worry about her brother. Not once did she consider her mother's fear, Ethan's confusion, or her mother's stress. She had been a royal bitch and she could never do enough to redeem herself.  
   She dropped her luggage off at the storage car and went to find an empty compartment where she could clear her head. Her mom would want her to go see her friends and have fun, but she just wasn't feeling it. She needed to think. And she did for about ten minutes until a tall guy with light brown hair and a pale faced marred by scars knocked on the compartment door. She waved him in, confused.  
   "Hey, could I hide in here for a while? My friends have begun their normal douchebaggery earlier than expected and I don't want to deal with it." The guy explained.  
  "Um, sure." She muttered.  
   The guy stepped through the door and took a seat, book in hand. Nyla was lying face up staring at the dingy fabric lining of the car. It was awkward and an odd quiet continued for eternity.  
   "I- I'm Remus Lupin, Gryffindor." The young man said, breaking the silence.  
   "Nyla Farrow, Hufflepuff."  
   The silence took hold again and they both went on as they had before. Remus read and Nyla stared off. Her eyes wandered toward him a few times, studying his scars, then shot right back to the ceiling. She found herself wondering how they got there and if they hurt. He must've been a mind reader, because only seconds later he answered her unspoken question.  
   "They're from a childhood accident, the scars." He told her without even looking up from his book. His voice was steady and surprisingly not defensive.  
   "I- ho- what happened?" She stuttered.  
  "Car crash," Remus answered, almost too quickly.  
Nyla opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't find any appropriate things to say. What was she supposed to do? Again he answered her question.  
   "You don't have to say anything. It really is fine, Nyla." Remus intrigued her. He seemed to have a secret and she wanted to figure it out.  
   "What're you reading?" She asked.  
   "It's a muggle book you've probably never heard of." He said glancing at her then back to the book.  
   "My mom is a muggle, tell me the title." Nyla enjoyed the look of surprise on his face and couldn't help but to smirk.  
   "It's The Catcher in the Rye," he held the book up "Ever read it?" The cover was bent and it looked to be pretty old.  
   "One of my favorites," she told him matter of factly, sitting up and crossing her legs. "How do you like it?"  
   "At first I couldn't stand it, but twenty pages in I couldn't put it down. Now I'm reading it for the fifth time since." He smiled.  
    It was a nice smile and he was a nice guy. They talked on and on about the book until Lily Evans showed up to summon Remus to their prefect meeting. Nyla wondered how she had never met him before, and decided to find him in the Great Hall sometime that year. Somehow his presence made her less miserable and when he left, her nightmarish reality came crashing in on her again. For the hour and a half left of the train ride to Hogwarts, she sat by the window and watched the landscape fly by. She thought about everything going as her eyelids grew heavy and she slowly drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

   The Great Hall was as heart stopping as ever, thousands of candles floated in the air, the ceiling sparkled with the stars of the night sky, and all of the house ghosts flew over the heads of Hogwarts students. Nyla could hardly hear her friends shouting at her over the ruckus of the hall. She elbowed her way through the sea of her peers, finally reaching her friends’ expressions of both joy and concern. Her best friend, a bleach blonde girl with big brown eyes, was the first to question her absence on the train ride.

   “Where the hell were you? I thought you’d died or something!”

   “Marlene, calm down, okay? I’ll tell you after the sorting.”

   She nodded just as Professor McGonagall marched through the large wooden doors, leading a small army of first years behind her. All of their chubby faces lit up in amazement of the Great Hall. Five years previous her face certainly looked very similar to theirs. Her heart had been beating out of her chest and her breaths coming quicker as each second passed, wondering which house she'd be placed in. McGonagall reached the front of the long room and cleared throat before setting the ratty old sorting hat down on the stool that sat before her. It took a deep breath and began belting out its song.

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning. "_

_Together we will build and teach!"_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might someday be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_Their differences caused little strife_

_When they first they came to light_

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted,so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor_

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_And now the sorting house is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you_

_... Let the sorting now begin_

   Students across the hall began whispering about the odd change of the Sorting Hat's song but Mcgonagall's fiery stare quieted the gossip quickly. "Abemon, Peter." She called as the hall grew silent again. A short little boy with smooth jet black hair shuffled up to the stool and sat down with his eyes bulging. The professor sat the hat atop his head. It contemplated a moment and sent him off to Slytherin. The table cheered and roared for its new student, while the rest of the tables sat in silence. The monotonous calling seemed to last a lifetime, until finally the last was called up and sent off to good old Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff got a number of new recruits, all baby-faced and adorable, they reminded her so much of Ethan. A wave of self loathing shot through her, her mind ran back to her state in the train, so she quickly tore her gaze away and focused on Dumbledore’s short welcome speech.

   A few moments later, a plethora of food appeared upon the table. First years oohed and ahhed at their first touch of life in Hogwarts and Nyla couldn't help but to giggle. She grabbed a plate and began to pile on all her favorites: mashed potatoes, butter beans, and chicken.

   "So.." Marlene said expectantly. Nyla quickly retold the sad story of her summer holiday, taking sips of pumpkin juice periodically to hide her teary eyes.

   "It was just a hard few months and I needed time to process things, sorry I scared you Mar," "It's fine, I'm just glad everything's okay." "Okay is a bit of an overstatement.." She said, looking down at her plate and pushing the contents around.

   "Not yet, but it will be, if it’s the last thing I do."

   They shared a small smile and continued eating, laughing quietly when someone in their group cracked a joke or shared a funny tale. The first feast of the year went by in a happy flash. Before Nyla knew it, Prefects were leading the Hufflepuff house out of the Great Hall and into a huge corridor lit up with torches and chandeliers. The group of gold and black clad students marched past a painting of a bowl of fruit, a statue of an old witch hunched over, and turned a sharp corner. The stopped in front of an old barrel tucked into a corner by a broom closet.

   It was a dark mahogany and the metal bands keeping it together were a rusty orange. Nick Johnson, a sixth year prefect, explained to the first years that to enter the common hall they had to knock a ‘secret’ knock onto the barrel, otherwise they’d experience one of Helga Hufflepuff’s infamous booby traps. He demonstrated the knock a few times on the stone wall and had the group knock it back to him until finally knocking on the barrel and beginning the short descent into the Hufflepuff basement.

   The fireplace and torches lining the stone walls were the only sources of light. Windows were lined around the high walls, but only stars were visible through them. Vines crept up the curved walls and small potted plants sat in the high windows. Professor Sprout was likely to bring many more interesting plants in throughout the year. Small circular doors scattered the walls, they lead to different dormitories, girls on the left, boys on the right. Every year Nyla’s dormitory was the third from the main entrance, she’d shared the dorm with four other girls (Marlene Mckinnon, Dakota Pleebs, Abigail Slenis, and Angelina Frattola) since her first year.

   She snaked her way through the crowded common room and plopped down into a yellow arm chair. Marlene and some seventh year were flirting in a corner, Dakota and Abigail were laughing hysterically about some joke Anthony Mardello told them, Christine Reese and Angelina were chattering with a few other sixth years at a small table stealing glances at her, and Nyla was feeling more alone than ever. When she told her friends about her mom, they reacted just as her muggle acquaintances did; with a sad smile and an 'I'm sorry'. Now, none of them could look her in the eye or seem treat her like they used to, all except Marlene. She got up from the chair, elbowing her way to her dormitory. Before shut shut the door, she observed the happy crowd before her one more time, wondering why she couldn't be one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sorting hat's song is from The Order of Phoenix, though some parts are cut out. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling.


End file.
